NEWSBRIEFS (12/17/95)

NEWSBRIEFS

Is Sevastopil really open to all?

SEVASTOPIL - Despite high-level directives to the contrary, this port city, headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, has not in fact been opened to all comers, said the press service of municipal administration and local Interior Ministry officials on December 12. In accordance with a recent Cabinet of Ministers decision, entrance to the city, off-limits to foreigners and Ukrainian residents alike since 1984, was to have been allowed as of December 1. Yet to this day the local militia have not received an Interior Ministry directive to that effect. (Respublika)

Coal miners' strike continues

DONETSKE - A recently initiated strike by miners at three local coal mines continues, reported Ukrainian Television on December 11. The miners are demanding prompt payment of back pay, in some cases stretching back three months. The strike has resulted in a nearly 6,000 ton shortfall in coal extraction. (Respublika)

Belarusians elect valid Parliament...

MIENSK - According to international agency reports from December 11, 198 seats in the 260-member Belarus Parliament have now been filled, more than enough for a quorum. There has been some confusion over how many deputies were elected from each party. Most reports maintain that independent candidates now have 96 or so seats and that the Communists and Agrarians have the most seats. The Mass Media Center in Miensk gave the following breakdown: Party of Communists of Belarus, 42 seats; Agrarian Party, 33; the Party of Popular Accord, eight; the United Civic Party, seven; the Social Democratic Hramada, two; and the Party for All Belarusian Unity and Accord, two. No candidates from the nationalist opposition Belarusian Popular Front were elected. (OMRI Daily Digest)

... and leaders voice differing views

MIENSK - Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka said the election of a new Parliament shows that Belarusians continue to uphold the same ideals they had when they elected him president in 1994, Belarusian Radio reported on December 12. He described these ideals as support for his policies of closer integration with Russia. Prior to the elections the president, saying he would not vote, publicly tore up his voting card. But Zyanon Paznyak, leader of the Belarusian Popular Front, said the success of the elections showed people were afraid of Mr. Lukashenka establishing a dictatorship in the country. The leader of the United Civic Party, former national banker Stanislau Bahdankevich, agreed with Mr. Paznyak's interpretation and added that his party hopes to cooperate with the Agrarians since their program is liberal in many ways. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Serpent Island wrangle continues

KYIV - Ukrainian officials are dismayed by recent comments by Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu that his government is considering taking its claim on a tiny Black Sea island, now part of Ukraine, to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, international agencies reported on December 6. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Hennadiy Udovenko told reporters that Ukraine will not make any territorial concessions and that it has decided to recall its ambassador in Bucharest for consultations. Romania claims Serpent Island was unjustly turned over by Communist authorities to the USSR in 1948. According to Ukraine, there are potentially lucrative oil and gas deposits off the coast of the island. Romanian claims on land annexed by the Soviet government and now part of Ukraine have long held up the signing of a border agreement between the two countries. Since Mr. Udovenko's comments, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has reaffirmed Ukraine's intentions to hold onto the island. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Few fleet officers to serve Ukraine

KYIV - The Ukrainian Navy's press service reported on December 10 that Ukraine's Naval Commission began to receive garrisons and weapons of the ex-Soviet Black Sea Fleet the previous day, Interfax reported. While it noted that "several officers" asked for permission to continue their service in the Ukrainian Navy, Russian sources told a different story. ITAR-TASS reported the same day that only three out of 200 officers and 19 out of 300 warrant officers wanted to stay with the Ukrainian fleet. It quoted a Ukrainian spokesman as saying what happened has been a "real shock" for Ukraine and that there is "no one to serve on the ships and sites that have been turned over to us." (OMRI Daily Digest)

Booze, tobacco merchants drag feet

KYIV - According to information issued by the Ministry of Foreign Economic Affairs, Ukrainian manufacturers and merchants of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products have until December 15 to obtain certificates (licenses), allowing them to import or export such products, reported Ukrainian Television on December 12. Although the procurement of these licenses is mandatory, a large portion of those firms affected by the requirements has not yet complied, which may cause them serious difficulties in the near future. (Respublika)

Date of USSR's demise passes quietly

MOSCOW - The fourth anniversary of the Belovezhskaya agreement signed by Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, which brought and end to the USSR, was marked on December 8 by a small group of demonstrators in the city center. The organizers, Working Russia, had anticipated a crowd of 20,000, NTV reported that day, but attendance was smaller. Stanislau Shushkevich, former chairman of the Belarusian Parliament, revealed that he had suggested inviting Mikhail Gorbachev to the meeting, but Russian President Boris Yeltsin vetoed the idea. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Second reactor shut down at Zaporizhzhia

KYIV - Another mishap at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has shut down reactor No. 5 only days after a leak of radioactive steam prompted management to close the station's first reactor, Interfax-Ukraine and Reuters reported on December 7. The automatic shutdown occurred after the water level fell in three steam generators in the fifth reactor. The shutdown within one week of two of the plant's six reactors, which provide 33 percent of Ukraine's nuclear energy, now threatens the power supply to consumers as energy demand reaches peak winter levels. (OMRI Daily Digest)

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